When drinking wine with a group conversation can abound on a variety fo topics, but when all other topics seem to run out fun wine facts are a good choice. Here are some fun facts for discussion and you can be sure that these are facts, not falsehoods.
Oldest Wine Discovery
This is a little tricky as several locations can claim this title, depending on the definition of wine and whether the criteria of actual liquid or residue is used. Any of the following are accurate for wine trivia.
- The oldest traces of a wine-like substance were discovered in China. The pottery jars and the rice, fruit and honey mixture residue inside the jars date this find to over 9000 years ago. The drink that was contained in these jars is not what wine would be considered today, but a combination closer to a wine mead drink.
- In the area that is now Iran, wine jugs were discovered that dated from around 7000 years ago. These jars contained a residue that was closer to the foundation of larger grape concentrations used in modern wine.
- While older wine residue has been found, the actual oldest bottles found intact and with wine still in one of the bottles was found in two Roman stone sarcophagi in Germany. Scientists have dated the wine to 325AD. The bottle is on display in Speyer, Germany.
Wine Origins
For those would be oenophiles that believe wine came from Europe, that would be false, not fact. Wine didn’t make the way to French and English soil until thousands of years after its birth, as the discovery of wine bottles and jugs prove.
- Middle Eastern areas now known as Iran, Israel and Georgia are the earliest origins of modern day wine. It wasn’t until 1500 years later that the Greek’s culture expanded and brought wine with the growing civilization.
- The Romans began the documentation of winemaking and spread the basis of modern day winemaking. Bottles have been found along with the classification of grapes and wines.
Other Fun Facts
- There are more than 10,000 grape varieties used in wines around the world.
- A wine must contain 75% of the main grape to avoid being labeled as a blended wine.
- Pinetar, oil and rags were used to seal wine bottles before the use of cork by Egyptians thousands of years ago.
- Wine grapes are the world’s largest fruit crop based upon the number of acres planted.
- Lead poison was a common cause of death in ancient Rome due to the use of lead in wine to help preserve the wine.
- Old world wines from Europe use the wine’s region to denote the wine’s name such a Bordeaux while new world wines use the grape’s name such as Pinot Noir.
- Wine quotes have been around almost as long a wine. Written records have quotes dating back more 2500 years.
- Finally, the most important fact is that the best wine in the world is the one you are drinking now!
Cheers!
Margo Dillard - Margot has finally had her second book published, Life By The Glassful. Both her new book and her first one, Wine and Sweet Words are ...
